What does Mishkin Fitzgerald & Georgia Train sound like?

Dark orchestral electronica through to soulful prog rock with cinematic surprises.

The review of ‘Paper Lung’ by Mishkin Fitzgerald & Georgia Train

Two powerhouses of underground alternative rock combine forces for ‘Paper Lung’. Mishkin Fitzgerald is the lead for Birdeatsbaby and Georgia Train leads Bitter Ruin – two dark orchestral/cabaret-infused alt-rock acts that deserve may more attention than they’ve had to date. Both of their lives have been soaked in grief and loss and ‘Paper Lung’ is a duet release that focuses on those two topics.

cover art for 'Paper Lung' — Mishkin Fitzgerald and Georgia Train

‘Already Gone’ sets the tone with a painful but cathartic dark synth led track that gurgles and sizzles in the choruses with deep basslines and increasingly chaotic atmospherics and percussion. As Mishkin and Georgia sing a cascade of ‘you’re already gone’ and speak of the effects of loss, it’s as if they are trying to rouse each other out of their despair. This is an electronic release (initially) full of smooth bassy synths and a full low end. This lets the vocals shine with powerful upper registers or other dramatic effects. ‘Ask’ brings in drum machines and thick 80s guitars. A penchant for the EP is unusual, slightly off-kilter chord progressions that end with a purposefully clunky and dark chord. For ‘Ask’ this jarring effect makes the track feel gothic. The choral background vocals against the deep synths emphasise that too.

‘Precious Heart’ shifts gears from low and moody to pacey beats and big vocals. In steams industrial loops and club synths but as the track threatens to become a club banger, the rhythm and tone shift towards a dark electronic mid-tempo piece. It felt like I was being primed for a wild ride that never really delivered although the track itself is still good. I think part of my confusion came from how I viewed the EP on the first listen. This EP needs to be viewed from the lens of soulful mourning putting on dark cinematic electronic clothes, rather than an electronic album embracing mourning.

This idea of soulful mourning takes centre stage for the closing two tracks. ‘Truth’ is where this hits home with a soulful and emotional piano and vocal track. Backed by nothing more than vinyl spits and room noise, it’s a beautiful piece. It goes hand in hand with ‘Sanctuary’, a cinematic rock piece with a dark cabaret backdrop. With crackling electric guitar motifs, big drums, Beatles piano and grammar-phone strings, this track sounds like nothing else on the album but it brings all the catharsis and release the EP has been building towards. The six-minute closer ends in a climactic and rousing explosion of guitar solos and vocal gymnastics and everything is purged and cleansed. We’ve released the grief and tension and moved from the early darker and claustrophobic songs into the freeing light.

‘Paper Lung’ runs a wide gambit quickly and that means some genres and production styles could click faster than others. However, when you zoom out and look at the story Mishkin Fitzgerald and Georgia Train tell in less than 25 minutes, you see a complete picture. Both artists smash it from the songwriting to the performances. This isn’t their first collaboration and it shows – they clearly feed from each other’s energy. I’d love to hear more from them as a duo in the future. This will be a hidden gem release that will hopefully grow through word of mouth over time. It is a wholesome record ripe for healing listeners.

Recommended track: Already Gone

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